The final chassis built of just three BRM P139s, P139 #3 represents the culmination of the team’s 1969 Formula One programme. Developed from the earlier P138, the P139 featured revised suspension geometry, improved weight distribution and increased fuel capacity as BRM worked to extract the full potential from its powerful 3.0-litre V12 engine during one of Formula One’s most fiercely competitive eras.
P139 #3 made its sole World Championship appearance at the 1969 Mexican Grand Prix, where it was entrusted to John Surtees for his farewell race with BRM. Already a legend as the only driver to win World Championships on both two wheels and four, Surtees qualified tenth before retiring after 23 laps with transmission failure. Despite the result, the event marked a significant moment in BRM history.
The Mexican Grand Prix remains the only occasion on which all three BRM P139 chassis competed together. George Eaton drove P139 #1, Jackie Oliver raced P139 #2, and John Surtees piloted P139 #3, creating a unique snapshot of BRM’s final evolution of the P139 before the all-new P153 arrived for 1970.
Although its competitive career was brief, P139 #3 occupies an important place in BRM history. It is forever associated with the final BRM appearance of one of motor racing’s greatest champions and represents the closing chapter of an ambitious development programme that bridged the gap between the P138 and the race-winning P153 which would return BRM to Grand Prix victory the following season.